If you're into bold reds with a story, the 2021 Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino is definitely one to check out. It’s rich, smooth, and seriously well-made—basically Malbec turned up to eleven, but still super drinkable. The grapes come from two legendary high-altitude vineyards in Mendoza, and the result is a wine that's both powerful and elegant.

The Wine Advocate | RP 96
Published: Nov 30, 2022
Drink: 2024-2032

The very young but already harmonious 2021 Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino has one of the showier labels from the Catena portfolio. 2021 was a cooler year, as cold as 2016, but instead of a wet year like 2016, it was dry. The wine is juicy and reveals a vibrant palate and very clean and focused aromas and flavors. It's clean and precise with varietal aromas of violets, ripe berries and herbs and a spicy touch from the élevage in oak. It's another great vintage for this blend of grapes from the vineyards of Angélica (Lunlunta) and Nicasia (Altamira). It's nicely textured and tasty, medium to full-bodied and with a vibrant finish. 60,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2022.

I did a mini vertical of 2020, 2017, 2015, 2012, 2008 and 2004, the first vintage produced. 2017 showed very well, better than when young; 2015 and 2012 had intense notes of graphite and ink, but the 2015 had more strawberries and more complexity; 2012 was a little more advanced; 2008 was herbal and minty (thyme and aromatic herbs); and 2004 felt like it came from a different era, still oaky and resinous.

Some of the vineyards from Catena are suffering from phylloxera, and parts of some vineyards have to be grubbed up and replanted.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 96
Published: Apr 4, 2023

A really well-balanced malbec here that is slightly spicier and richer. Black cherries, dark olives and some violets. Fleshy and almost full-bodied on the palate with juicy, naturally rendered fruit and very fine-grained tannins. Balance is the word. Drink or hold.

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 17.5
Published: Jun 19, 2024
Drink: 2025-2035

100% Malbec from Nicasia vineyard (vine 25+ years old) and Angelica vineyard (almost 100-year-old vines), ungrafted. Average yield 5,000 kg/ha, elevation 920–1,095 m.
Darkest crimson with purple rim. Darker-fruited than the above. More rocky than stony. Compact tannins are still young but already refined. Chewy framework, round, pure fruit.

Catenazapata.com

TEN CENTURIES OF LIFE, DEATH AND REBIRTH
The epic tale of the noble Malbec grape is like no other, and the label for Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino pays tribute to the variety’s history in France and its rise in Argentina. Four female figures embody different landmarks in the history of the grape. Eleanor of Aquitaine represents the birth of Malbec. She is a strong, Old World presence, lingering at the bridge in Cahors, where Malbec came into its own. Next, the Immigrant symbolizes the movement to the New World and the unknown explorers and adventurers who connected Europe with the Americas. Phylloxera personifies the death of Malbec in the Old World, which enabled its rebirth in the new. Finally, there is Bodega Catena Zapata, represented by Adrianna Catena, who depicts birth, earth, and motherhood, sharing the riches of the New World. Today, the Catena family’s fourth generation leads the high-altitude renaissance in Argentina. We are returning Malbec to the sky... where it belongs.

WINE DESCRIPTION
No matter what the vintage, this wine is really more than 100 years old. It represents a family's journey to produce an Argentine Malbec that can stand with the great wines of the world.

VINIFICATION
20% whole cluster and 80% whole berry fruit is hand-loaded into 225-500 liter new French oak barrels for a 100% barrel fermentation for a period of 28 days, allowing seamless oak integration. The fermentation temperature is kept low, extracting intense aromas, and the cap management is done by hand to ensure soft, gentle flavors and tannin extraction. Wild yeasts. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in barrel leaves considerable lees and sediment. The wine is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months.

VINEYARDS
Old Vines from the Catena Zapata Family Vineyards, Nicasia and Angélica. The origins of the vines, which we call “The Catena Cuttings”, is a prephyloxeric Massale Selection from the Angélica Vineyard.

Harvest time varies depending on each lot's soil composition. Harvest time can vary by several weeks between one lot and another within the same vineyard.

Nicasia Vineyard: Named after Nicolás Catena Zapata’s grandmother.
Shallow loamy soil. Gravel on surface and topsoil.
Location: La Consulta District, San Carlos Region, Mendoza, Argentina.
Altitude: 3,593 ft (1,095 m) elevation.
Planted in 1996 (20 years old vineyard).
Angélica Vineyard: Named after Nicolás Catena Zapata’s mother.
Soil: Adjacent to dry river bed. Light gravel, loam and clay.
Location: Lunlunta District, Maipú Region, Mendoza, Argentina.
Altitude: 3,018 ft (920 m) elevation.
Planted in: Circa 1930 (90 years old vineyard)

TECHNICAL INFORMATION 
Varietal: 100% Malbec
Alcohol: 13.9 %
Total Acidity: 5.95 grams/liter
pH: 3.65
Wine Director: Alejandro Vigil